xe2x80x9cGolf Ball Stacking and Dispensing Apparatus and Method,xe2x80x9d filed concurrently.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls, and more particularly pertains to a tray for stacking golf balls in a pyramidal fashion and dispensing golf balls from the stack for use.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is generally desirable at golf practice areas, such as driving ranges, to provide golfers with large supplies of golf balls for use during a practice session. Conventionally, a supply of balls is provided via a basket, with the balls either removed by hand by the golfer, or the basket tipped over and the supply of balls scattered. In the former case, the golfer wastes significant time and energy in repeatedly bending over to retrieve individual balls from the basket. In the latter case, the balls are likely to scatter around the practice area, creating a cluttered practice area as well as a tripping hazard for the golfer. Additionally in the latter case, some balls are likely to roll beyond the practice area, thus requiring time-and-energy consuming retrieval by the golfer or golf facility personnel.
The prior art discloses means for providing a supply of golf balls for a practice session, where the balls are stacked in a pyramidal fashion. Square pyramidal stacks of golf balls are provided by the methods and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,895 to Thomsen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,574 to Thomsen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,832 to Kelly; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,173 to Ziegler. Such pyramidal stacking systems, all involving a tray onto which the balls are stacked, offer advantages over baskets in terms of ease of dispensing balls for use. One or more of the stacked balls may be knocked from the stack by the golfer using the head of his or her club, without the need for the golfer to repeatedly bend over to retrieve individual balls. Pyramidal stacking further avoids the balls cluttering the practice area or creating a tripping or other hazard, as is the case with a tipped basket. Pyramidal stacking offers the still further advantage of an aesthetically pleasing manner of presenting a supply of golf balls for use.
The prior pyramidal stacking apparatus and methods, however, present other limitations. The Thomsen patents disclose a tray for stacking golf balls where the tray includes a square array of spherical depressions for receiving the golf balls. A pyramidal hopper is placed over the tray and golf balls are poured into a top opening of the hopper. As balls fill the spherical depressions, the base layer of the pyramidal display is formed. As more balls are poured into the hopper, subsequent layers are formed until the pyramidal stack is complete. Larger stacks of balls may be produced in this manner. Indeed, the Thomsen patents disclose pyramidal stacks of up to 204 balls (8 layers, 8xc3x978 balls on the bottom layer). However, Thomson""s disclosure of individual spherical depressions for the bottom layer of balls in the array makes filling that layer without significant user manipulation problematic. The spherical depressions also make dispensing of the balls from the bottom layer with simply the head of a golf club, difficult. Further, since the spherical depressions are impacted by golf balls being dropped on them each time a pyramidal stack is to be formed, the tray must be made of sufficiently durable material to withstand the impact if the tray is to have any appreciable life.
The Ziegler patent discloses a golf ball tray having a plurality of substantially parallel rails within a rectangular frame. The rails are substantially uniformly spaced apart, with the spacing such that a golf ball may not pass between adjacent rails, but instead is constrained to lie on each of two adjacent rails and roll along their lengths in a groove formed therebetween. The spacing between the center lines of adjacent rails is larger than the diameter of a golf ball and less than 1.414 times that diameter. Balls are stacked on the tray by placing a pyramidal hopper on the tray, pouring balls into the hopper until a base layer is filled and a pyramidal stack is formed, and subsequently removing the hopper. Balls may be dispensed from the stack by rolling from the stack or along the grooves and over the side of the tray frame. In an alternative embodiment, Ziegler discloses that the top edge of the tray may be beveled to slope down inwardly toward the rails. According to Ziegler, beveling the top edge of the ball tray may facilitate dispensing golf balls over the edge of the tray. According to Ziegler, this beveling/shaping may enhance the constraint of golf balls to roll along the grooves between adjacent rails.
Ziegler discloses pyramidal stacks of 285 and 385 golf balls, which Ziegler claims will be sufficient for a two hour practice session at a xe2x80x9ctypicalxe2x80x9d rate of three balls used per minute. However, Ziegler""s ball tray, even with beveled edges on the rails, includes exposed angled edges subject to deterioration from repeated forceful contact with golf balls being poured through the hopper. That is, after a period of repeated use, the forced contact of the golf balls with the edges of the rails will cause those edges to become deformed and misshapen, affecting the ability of the rails to form the requisite bottom layer of balls to support the pyramidal stack. Alternatively, where the rails are made of relatively impervious material (i.e., metal or concrete, both disclosed in Ziegler), the forced contact of the golf balls with the rigid, impervious angled edges will eventually result in damaged balls, useless to the golfer. Still further, the ball tray of Ziegler, with rails of concrete and holding a pyramidal stack of 285 or 385 balls, clearly is not portable by the average golfer or golf facility employee. That is, a golfer wishing merely to purchase and hit xe2x80x9ca bucket of balls,xe2x80x9d (that is, approximately 100 balls), will be physically unable to do so using the ball tray disclosed in Ziegler. Further such large stacks of balls, 9 or 10 balls high, not including the height of the tray, are awkward for the average golfer to use. Still further, the ball tray of Ziegler, when fixed into the ground at the driving range site, is exposed to the weather, thus increasing the speed of deterioration of the tray.
What is needed is a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls, which allows the balls to be stacked for ease in dispensing by a golfer, and provides for ease of dispensing of all stacked balls, and is portable by the average golfer or golf facility employee. What is further needed is a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls that will not deteriorate or become damaged as the result of repeated forceful contact with golf balls. What is further needed is a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls that will not damage or deteriorate the golf balls as the result of repeated forceful contact with the tray.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls, which allows the balls to be stacked for ease in dispensing by a golfer, provides for ease of dispensing of all stacked balls, and is portable by the average golfer. The present invention also provides a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls that will not deteriorate or become damaged as the result of repeated forceful contact with golf balls. The present invention further provides a tray for stacking and dispensing golf balls that will not damage or deteriorate the golf balls as the result of repeated forceful contact with the tray.
The golf ball stacking and dispensing tray of the present invention comprises a substantially rectangular central region bounded by a peripheral region, the peripheral region including two pairs of opposing and elongated sides forming a substantially rectangular boundary of the central region and that are perpendicular to each other, the central region including a plurality of rails and a plurality of resting surfaces, the tray having a top side and a bottom side.
The rails and resting surfaces are arranged relative to each other such that neighboring rails are separated from each other by a resting surface and neighboring resting surfaces are separated from each other by a rail. Each of the rails has a convex curvature as viewed from the top side of the tray. In addition, each of the rails has an associated apex, the apexes of the plurality of the rails being in a common tangential plane with each other.
Each of the resting surfaces is arranged and configured to lie outside the common tangential plane, and appears recessed with respect to the rails when the tray is viewed from the top side. The two pairs of opposing and elongated sides of the peripheral region have a concave curvature when the tray is viewed from the top side. The rails and the resting surfaces are arranged in parallel with one pair of opposing and elongated sides of the peripheral region. Each of these sides is adjacent to a resting surface.